1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to a vehicle simulation system, and particularly to a simulator for land vehicles which accurately simulates driving a vehicle in various weather conditions and which is capable of presenting virtually any type of traffic event to a user of the system.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There are known systems which emulate vehicle operation. These known simulation systems, such as video arcade games and driver training simulators, fail to accurately simulate the operation of a vehicle in a wide variety of traffic and weather related conditions. As a result, users of these systems fail to adequately develop the skills necessary to become an experienced operator of a motor vehicle.
For example, a known system is Adams U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,848, which discloses a testing apparatus which records a user's response to a series of threatening and non-threatening events appearing on a video screen.
Chen U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,347 discloses an exercise bicycle having a means for changing pedal resistance to correspond to a visual display.
Langlais U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,956 discloses a driver training device including display monitors for presenting a sequence of images which are responsive to testee input. The display monitors present both a forward and rear view of a simulated environment.
Mott U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,687 discloses a video game apparatus.
Copperman U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,376 and Gray U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,102 disclose a vehicle simulator having a means for projecting a sequence of visual images of a roadway system based upon manipulation of control devices for the simulated vehicle. The system also emulates driving in various atmospheric conditions.
Copperman U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,453 discloses a vehicle simulator having a means for programming a traffic scenario prior to a simulation session. This Copperman simulator, however, is restrictive in its capability to provide virtually any type of traffic condition or weather condition to the system user.
The above identified devices fail to disclose a vehicle simulator which accurately depicts the operation of a vehicle in various weather conditions, such as in snow, rain, fog or heavy wind, or a simulator which provides instructor-controlled traffic events and weather conditions on demand during the course of a simulation session.